The present disclosure relates generally to surgery and the placement of the sutures.
Surgical closure using sutures is one approach to tissue repair. In some instances, however, placing sutures can be difficult to execute due to anatomic constraints, obstruction of visualization by blood or other bodily fluids, and the proximity to nerve rootlets. These challenges can be further complicated when using minimally invasive techniques, for example when working through a tubular retractor.
Known needle drivers, which are often used when suturing in challenging locations, lack a mechanism for capturing a needle once it has been passed through tissue to be sutured.